Hi, I am writing to this group because I figure there must be a subset of linux people that are sensitive to extraneous noises and lights, like LEDs on high tech equipment. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that you're into linux, you may be a bit of a hacker, or have figured out the solution to my quandary, or know of the product I'm looking for.
I recently switched from oil heat to gas heat. I now have a fancy shmantzy digital programmable thermostat. It makes a popping and clicking sound whenever the heater changes state. It also lights up whenever the heater changes state. I don't want it to do these things. My old analog thermostat just sat there and never made any noise or generated any light. However, it is not programmable. I would like a programmable thermostat that is silent, and does not light up, and does not make any noise when the heater changes state. Sincerely, Victor Soich The following goes into detail regarding my concerns and issues with my current programmable thermostat. I wrote to technical support of Rheem describing two issues of the Rheem thermostat. It lights up at inappropriate times, and makes a loud clicking noise. Perhaps they will have a quick fix to the problem. The following is what I wrote.... I am the consumer of the product, not the contractor. I will be registering my product very soon. The product is a nice snazzy digital thermostat with a decent liquid crystal display, but there are two problems that I hope you can address. Otherwise, I am really going to miss my old analog thermostat because it didn't make noise or light up at inappropriate times. The thermostat is within view of my sight while I watch TV in the living room, and occasionally fall asleep on the couch in the living room. Unfortunately, the thermostat LCD screen lights up momentarily, and the thermostat makes some sort of clicking sound when a change of state occurs in the heating system. I can't stand the light coming on, and I can't stand the click sound sounding when I'm not the one prompting it. It startles me when I'm watching TV or falling asleep on the couch in the dark. I don't like the thermostat "announcing" to the world that the heater is doing something by lighting up momentarily and making a clicking sound. That is why I like the old analog thermostat. It did its job without having to indicate to the world at large that it was doing something. Is there a way to disable the light from coming on and the clicking sound from happening automatically when the heating system changes state? I hope so, otherwise a snazzy new programmable 100 dollar plus thermostat is worse than the old technology of an analog thermostat. I read the manual for the thermostat, and I figured out how to keep the LCD thermostat from ever lighting up. You do this by going into the INSTALLER/CONFIGURATION MENU to MENU REF 10, and Select Display Light to L OFF. While this has the virtue of keeping the LCD light from flashing on at inappropriate times, like when I'm watching TV in the dark, or sleeping on the couch, it still does not prevent the clicking sound from happening. Another drawback of turning the Display Light to L OFF is that when I do need it on, it won't come on unless I go through the INSTALLER/CONFIGURATION MENU and set the Display Light to L(On). This is too much of a rigmarole. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
